A letter from Cary Fowler, Ph.D., Executive Secretary, The Global Crop Diversity Trust

Dear Friends of the Trust,

In August, I joined the staff of the Global Crop Diversity Trust as the second Executive Director in its short history. In my first letter to you - the 800 supporters of the Trust who receive this communication - I want to begin by expressing gratitude to my predecessor, Geoff Hawtin, one of the most creative, broad-ranging and effective figures the plant genetic resources community has ever known. After Ph.D. studies at Cambridge, Geoff’s career began at ICARDA in Syria as a legume breeder. He rose to the position of Deputy Director General and from there went to IDRC in Canada where he was Associate Director of the Crops and Animal Production Systems Program and later, Director of the Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences Division.

In 1991, Geoff was appointed Director General of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (then IBPGR) in Rome. IPGRI expanded greatly under his leadership and spearheaded the move to formalize the status of CGIAR-held plant genetic resource collections by bringing them under the auspices of FAO. When he stepped down after 12 years as head of IPGRI, he moved across town to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, taking the reins as its first director. It is through Geoff Hawtin’s foresight and leadership that we now have in the Trust a tool that the early giants of the plant genetic resources world -  Vavilov, the Harlans, Frankel, Hawkes, Chang, Williams, Bennett, Ochoa and others - might only have dreamed of on a particularly starry night. Geoff would doubtless give much of the credit for the creation of the Trust to others, including the small but intensely dedicated staff that he assembled. And, he would be right to do so. The Trust truly is a “community” effort and has been from the beginning. And what a community it is, drawing as it does from the FAO, CGIAR, private sector and NGOs, from scientists, plant breeders, government representatives, development advocates and yes, farmers.

But, as all of us realize, much of the credit must still go to Geoff Hawtin for his vision and for his tireless efforts to create from scratch an institution now recognized formally by 21 countries under international law. Today, thanks in large part to Geoff, the Trust has strong links to FAO, the CGIAR and the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. It also has made a solid start in assembling the financial endowment needed to realize the dream we all share. How fitting that upon his retirement from the Trust, the Crop Science Society of America awarded Geoff its prestigious Frank Meyer Medal for service to the international community in the field of plant genetic resources.

Congratulations Geoff! And thank you.

And now a word about the Trust and its future:

With the Trust, we have a unique opportunity - the opportunity to ensure the conservation of the world’s distinct crop genetic resources held in ex situ collections. Forever. We should count ourselves fortunate. How many people working on other important global issues - climate change, or conservation of tropical forest or endangered species, for instance - can look you in the eyes and say with confidence “We can solve this problem.” And yet, we know we can succeed. The physical resources we need are in hand; the required technology is well understood and available; the people are ready; the institutions are in place; the necessary legal structure now exists. We have a strategy; and last but not least, we have the Trust. This is a world challenge we can tick off. I can think of no other whose solution seems so obviously attainable.

More than 6 million accessions, or samples, typically in the form of seed, are now conserved in some 1400 collections scattered around the world. One to two million are thought to be “distinct,” the remainder being duplicates. At least three different surveys of scientists have come to the same conclusion about these biological materials, namely that they represent a large portion of the genepool of the major crops that feed the world. Ninety-five percent of the wheat, maize, rice and potato landraces, for example, is thought to be housed in genebanks. 

If we can manage to conserve these resources, we will have also made a huge contribution to economic development, food security, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, and to future efforts to cope with climate change, energy supply constraints, and a growing world population. In fact, imagine achieving food security, imagine adapting agriculture to the changes brought on by climate change, or imagine protecting the world’s forests and parks from encroachment in a world without the crop diversity the Trust will help conserve.

Crop diversity provides insurance. But, as most of us understand, paying the insurance bill brings little immediate satisfaction. Other interests scream for attention. Politicians talk about “future generations” but, too often, it’s the costs, not the benefits, that are pushed into the future and onto the next generation. In 1996, 150 countries adopted the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources. Central to that plan was the call for a rational and efficient system for the conservation of the resources. The implication was clear - the current system is not particularly rational, efficient, or sustainable. But, we are paying for it, inefficiencies and irrationalities included. We can do better.  And we can do it with less expense. The Trust can be and must be a tool for adding value and actually saving money, helping to conserve targeted resources securely and efficiently. No such mechanism exists today to encourage, monitor and essentially guarantee this service.

Short term benefits? Real and concrete.

Long term benefits? Absolutely incalculable.

What then must we do if we are to realize the historic opportunity that lies before us? We must articulate our dream. We must remain true to our principals and goals. We must, of course, raise the requisite funds - tiny in the context of other global issues. We must manage those funds responsibly. And we must dispense them wisely. Very wisely.

These things cannot be done without you, the friends and supporters of the Trust. This is not the Secretariat’s Trust. It is yours. And, uniquely, it really does belong to future generations as well. In the days ahead, we will ask for your participation and help. In the meantime, if you see an opportunity to promote or assist the Trust, please take it. Feel free as well to contact us with your suggestions, criticisms and ideas. We need them.

In closing, let me thank you for your support and cooperation in the past. And in the future!

Sincerely,
Cary Fowler, Ph.D.
Executive Secretary

The Global Crop Diversity Trust is an international fund whose goal is to support the conservation of crop diversity over the long term.